Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) ****/5: Great improvement over it's predecessor but some issues regarding the premise of this series still remain.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a great improvement on its predecessor. I really liked this film although by the end this concept of the planet of the apes is still elusive. I wonder how many movies it will take and I believe that by the next film some hard decisions will have to be made. This film provided the basis for those hard decisions to be made because not everything revolves around Caesar (Andy Serkis). The exclusivity given to Caesar was one of the weak points of the earlier film but now there are other players that deserve significant attention. When the history of the series is written then it’s possible that these characters will assume a place in the pantheon for good or ill. I am speaking obviously about Koba (Toby Kebbell). The human story was a clear weak point but it will probably set a platform for the development of the series. When Caesar eventually takes over he may find a place for human scientists, engineers etc. It’s similar to how Rome found place for the Greek intellectual tradition.

This film continues from its predecessor after a virus that originated with the apes in the first film, after being the generated by human scientists, has decimated most of the humans on the planet. There are survivors in the form of human colonies and one in San Francisco led by Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) and Malcolm (Jason Clarke) the chief engineer or scientist needs to access a hydro electric power source from a dam. In order to get this dam they have to go through the home of Caesar and his apes. An uneasy alliance is formed but there are seedy elements involved that will undermine it and bring human and apes to the path of no return and all out war.

Positives

The main positive is that this film is much more in depth than its predecessor particularly as it concerns the community of the apes. It’s good to see how they have developed as a community in this film and this is reflected in the supporting cast. It is clear that when the apes write or tell their history someone like Koba deserves some form of mention. He may be portrayed as villainous but his actions are necessary if we are to see an actual planet of the apes materialize. If it was up to Caesar and his naiveté then we would have to wait for the a 6th film before he sounded the clarion call for apes to take up arms against the humans. Even by the end Caesar acknowledges that he must now lead the apes on and this can only be due to the push by Koba. Koba actually knew best in the end. It’s the same for many organizations you have the idealistic head who believes he/she can live out their fantasies and visions without some form of conflict or encountering a negative but there is a second in command who knows what’s really going on. It’s the second in command that gets things done or keeps the wheels spinning on a realistic level so that the leader can live out their fantasies. Not all leaders are as fantastic, as I here claim, but a they are out there and the only reason they have not succumbed to pressure is due to the hard/dirty work done on the ground by their lieutenants. Koba might be filled with hate but he understands the down and dirty of the situation in a way that Caesar never will. To make him appear so villainous was probably not the way to go because it only enhances Caesar’s reputation even more. Koba awoke in him real primal urges. When you see Koba do something that might seem villainous it’s all instinctive. He challenges the alpha male and that is a regular thing in the ape world at present. If he is defeated then he submits or is banished. It’s a natural thing and so I had nothing against him. He did not suddenly break with Caesar he challenged him, initially, because of perceived weakness in his leader and then took matters into his own hands. It’s similar to what Ra’s Al Ghul told Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins (2005) ‘You lack the courage to do what is necessary.’ Koba was more or less telling Caesar the same thing. As a leader you have to please the other potential leaders in your squad or you will be undermined, covertly or overtly. You, as a leader, must show strength at all times. I think that the development of Koba’s character is the most important thing I have seen in this series of films so far. It is good to know that Caesar is not infallible.

I also liked the son’s character and he is clearly a future leader for the series. Caesar may be the founding father but they can’t live forever and if the story is to gain some form of impetus other people will have to start taking over the starring roles. We will see how they handle this by part 3. Everything else goes according to script but because of Koba the film had some genuinely surprising moments and was not as predictable as it would seem from the outset.

The human element is a good addition from an emotional standpoint but it must come to a point when it has to be all out conflict and hopefully this is the last we will see of a film where the humans are spending most of their time trying to understand the apes. This film was an acknowledgement that the apes are not mindless, servile creatures. With that understanding there should be no holding back from either side

when the real conflict ensues.

Good visual effects. The apes really look life like; much more than in the first film.

Negatives

The primary negative is that there is still no sign of when a planet of the apes will come about. Will it be the next film? I thought the dawn of the planet of the apes would signify something more than the conquest of a mere human colony. The human colony is isolated and so we are not aware of how many humans are actually alive. I understand that the colony is not aware but we as the objective audience are not aware. The last film was called Rise of the Planet of the Apes but there was no sign of any planet just apes retreating. This film says there will be a dawn of the planet for the apes but still the scale is so small that you don’t get a sense of where it is all heading. Just to conquer the human colonies in the North America will be a massive task especially as one was so difficult. I mention all of this because this film is going for a more realistic approach as opposed to the traditional, straight to the point approach of the original B movie films. Will the apes arm themselves with tanks, body armor etc? Will the population of the apes increase rapidly? They will have to go all out for the next film because I am still not sure about these apes taking over the entire planet particularly how they will spread from continent to continent. I am really looking forward to the title of the next film. Will it be the Planet of the Apes? This would be fitting since we already have the dawn.

This boils down to my next negative criticism which was applied to the first film in the series: the lack of emphasis on the external elements. The internal elements are there but there is not enough of the external and so the world appears isolated as if it is ‘The Lord of the Flies.’ They can’t avoid the external elements for the next film and so they will have to be included. A lot of contradictions will come to the fore and it will be interesting to see how they (filmmakers) handle it. How will the apes govern the entire planet?

The naiveté of Caesar coupled with his heroic status never gelled well for me. He is clearly naïve for the most part and this is why Koba is the most important new element in this film. If he never pushed Caesar then we would not even be talking about the planet of the apes we would be talking about the community of Apes. He paid for his naiveté but by the end he is still portrayed as the leader of the movement. In one scene he calls Koba weak. Really? Koba will now go down as the first leader to actually make a push for the establishment of a planet for the apes not Caesar. By the end however the filmmakers are too eager to have Caesar remain the face of the planet of the apes although there is not much remarkable about him as there was in the first film. He is wise but he is also lacks a killer instinct and would have made the humans run all over him. By the end he seems to have discovered the killer instinct but we will see how far his wisdom takes him especially as he is prone to be very lenient. Koba never did anything wrong in my estimation because how else will a planet of the apes emerge if they don’t go out and conquer. The poster of the film is erroneous. It's not Caesar who led the charge that would bring about the eventual planet of the apes but Koba. Koba should have gotten his due.

The human story did not resonate sufficiently with me. There are a lot of tears but there is not much of a connection with the audience. This affection that Caesar has for the human must have implications later when he becomes a world conqueror.

I still give this film a higher rating because it was more engaging than the first film but the vulgar elements still remain. They will never be resolved and the time will come when we discover that the apes are no better than humans. A point made clear in the film but it will be interesting to see if the apes become capitalists. I am really looking forward to the alternatives they bring to governing style. When it eventually becomes subsumed under an industrial framework I would love to see if the filmmakers will demonstrate the effectiveness of this new style. I am looking forward to it. The apes get their first taste of industrial technology when they get access to weapons used in modern warfare and so it's clear that they will embrace industrial technology and science. Should be interesting.